Runaway
by Lady Reena
Summary: Alanna's real identity is revealed early on - she's caught by Duke Roger! She flees the Palace, not knowing where to go or who to turn to. What will happen?
1. Discovered!

**Runaway**

By Lady Reena

**Chapter One: Identity Discovered!**

_The man Duke Roger looked at the jeweled rod in his hands. "My cousin speaks highly of you, Alan of Trebond." _

_"We're friends, your Grace." She discovered she couldn't look away from him._

_"My uncle-in-law, Duke Gareth, also speaks highly of you. You are a most worthy young man by all accounts." _

_Alanna blushed with shame. If they knew the truth, they wouldn't speak well of her. _

_-Alanna: The First Adventure, by Tamora Pierce, p. 115_

Duke Roger's eyes connected with Alanna's purple ones. It seemed like he was examining her head, looking straight into her soul. Alanna realized that she could not resist or fight this feeling. She desperately tried to tell her Gift to shield her from Roger, whatever he may be looking for.

Suddenly, his eyes, so closely connected with hers, widened. His eyebrows raised so far up they might as well have gone above his forehead. For the secretive, well-composed Duke, he was clearly shocked about something.

Alanna knew. Alanna knew before he even had to open his mouth. Somehow she broke the connection with Duke Roger and stood up. He swiftly stood up too and grabbed her forearm, staring down at her.

"Alan of Trebond," he whispered, cold as a snake. "Alan of Trebond is more than what… _she_… seems to be."

Alanna could not hide her fear. She wrenched out of his grasp and flew out of the room. Coram had been waiting for her at the door.

"Come on!" she shrieked. "Coram! We have to go! Now!!"

"Wait a second, lass, what happened?!" Coram tried to stop her.

Alanna whirled around, terror and panic in her eyes. "He knows! He knows! He, he, examined me and–"

Coram's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, and he followed her. They burst into her rooms and packed as much as they could in whatever bags they could carry. Alanna tore off her page's uniform and pulled on a plain street boy's shirt, breeches and boots. Coram did the same with his Palace uniforms.

"Where are we going, lass?" Coram gasped, kind of wishing he was drunk.

"I don't know!! But we have to get out of here before everyone knows! I can't face this, Coram, I can't!" She didn't want to think about it too much at this point. Adrenaline was what kept her moving right now, her body performing these hurried motions.

Coram followed, knowing exactly what kind of trouble Alanna would be in if she stayed around to be caught. Heck, _he_ would be in a pile of trouble too.

"The horses, Coram," Alanna breathed, sweating. "Go get the horses before he tells them and they all find out. I'll grab the rest of our things. We probably only have _seconds_–"

Coram ran out of the room and to the stables.

Alanna tried to ignore the huge lump in her stomach. She couldn't believe it was over, all over, before it had barely begun. She should have known that she wouldn't be able to hide her identity for many long years. She was lucky she had made it through _one_ year.

She took one last look at her room in the Palace and shut the door.

She walked quickly through the Palace, thanking the gods that most of the other pages were in classes right now. She was so intent on her task that a couple walking turned a corner and she ran smack into them.

It was the King and Queen. Alanna blushed redder than she had ever before in her life, so many emotions running through her blood.

"Afternoon, Alan," greeted Queen Lianne. "Where are you going with all of your things?"

"Your Majesties," she gasped, bowing quickly. "I'm… I... I am so sorry. Please… forgive me. Tell Jon… I mean His Majesty Prince Jonathan… that I will miss him." She bowed once again and fled the scene as fast as her legs would take her.

Roald and Lianne stared after her. "That was awfully strange," commented Roald. "I wonder what's gotten to that boy."

Finally, Alanna reached the stables where Coram was waiting for her. She jumped on Chubby, her pony, and Coram mounted his large gelding. The two of them rode away hard and fast; two runaways who would soon be wanted for lying and cheating the royalty.

Alanna's brain was working overtime. Where could they go?

Then it clicked. "Coram!" she shouted over to him. "We ride for the city!"

"What! Are ye crazy–"

"Just follow me!"

Within minutes they were at the back of the Dancing Dove inn, also known as the Court of the Rogue. Alanna was quite conveniently friends with the Rogue himself, George Cooper.

Leading Coram to one of the many secret side entrances, she opened it and they entered. No sooner than she had shut the door there was an arm at her throat and a knife at Coram's.

Coram let out a little shriek of surprise.

"It's me!" Alanna exclaimed. "It's me, Alan!"

The arm let go and George Cooper turned her to face him. Coram, seeing who their companion was, glared at Alanna in disbelief. She raised her eyebrows at him in a small "sorry" gesture.

"George," she said, turning back to him. "George, they–um–" Tears started to well up in her eyes, the adrenaline finally running out. For once the red-headed firecracker was speechless.

"What is it, boy?" George asked, concerned. "Here, sit down, you're shaking!" He forced her in a chair and brought her some lemonade.

She sipped, but her shaking got worse and tears started to spill out of her eyes. She stubbornly pushed them away, but more just flowed out. Coram patted her back, knowing how she must be feeling right now. George looked at Coram questioningly.

Alanna looked up at both of them. "Coram, I know what you must be thinking …but I trust George. I trust him with my life. I think he can help us."

Coram stared at her, not quite believing, but given the dire situation they were in, he nodded. "Tell him, lass."

Alanna forced herself to look in George's eyes. "I'm a girl," she muttered. "I'm a girl, my name is Alanna, and I want…wanted…to be a knight."

"_What??"_

She glared. "Don't make me repeat it! Prince Jonathan's cousin, Duke Roger just arrived and he _examined_ all of us pages. He saw through it right away. I don't know how because I have the Gift and that's supposed to shield me from sorcery! And I don't like that man! There is something fishy about him!"

Coram added, "Duke Roger is probably the strongest living sorcerer. It is rumored that he can conduct spells from miles and miles away. You, with your Gift that isn't fully trained, probably didn't stand a chance against him." He rubbed her shoulders. "I'm sorry, lass."

George was thunderstruck. "So you two decided to run for it."

"Yes."

George stood, alert. "Did he tell anyone else right away? You might have been followed into the city!"

"No! I think we got out in time because I ran into the monarchs and I don't think they knew yet…" Alanna's face flushed with shame.

"Alanna," George said softly. "I like it."

She looked at him, purple eyes glossy. "What should I do, George? What _can_ I do? They'll have me up on Traitor's Hill!"

George moved to sit on the other side of her, and cupped her chin in his hand. "Did you really mean it when you said you trust me with your life?"

"Of course I do, you thief!"

He grinned. "Then I have a plan."

* * *

**NOTES: Oooh, so she's been caught by the almighty Duke of Conte! What oh what is going to happen next? Please give me a review and tell me what you think of this introductory chapter! Tell me what you liked and hated about it. One of the biggest things I whine about in fics is characters that are OOC, and I did my best to keep them in character here. Let me know. Many exciting plot twists are in store! :-D Lady Reena**


	2. a Decision

**Runaway, by Lady Reena**

**Chapter 2**

**Options and a Decision**

"A plan?" the young Alanna asked suspiciously.

George stared into her purple eyes. "Well let me ask you first, lass," he said. "What is it that you think you should do?"

Alanna's face was blank. "I'm not sure," she admitted. She looked over at Coram for support.

Coram gripped her arm. "Ye can't just go waltzing back up the hill to the Palace. Th' Duke of Conte (Alanna scowled at the name) will have informed their Majesties by now. . ."

"The way I see it," said the ever-wise George, "you have four choices. One: you can march back up to the Palace and admit defeat. You'll probably not get sent to Traitor's Hill, but you might get exiled. At the very least, you'll do some time in the country's accommodating prison."

Alanna swallowed.

The King of Thieves continued. "You could go to the City of the Gods. They might let you go to the convent and be a proper lady if you publicly apologize and let it be known that you've erred. Obviously you're a good liar ("Not good enough since they found out," Alanna scowled), so you could get away with that."

Alanna opened her mouth, probably to say exactly what she thought of the convent, but George stopped her. "I know, lass," he smiled. "The third option I have would be exiling _yourself_. You could run for Scanra, Tyra, Galla, or even the Yamani Islands. There's a lot of risk in that, but of course I would ensure that you get there safe. I have agents everywhere; you know that."

Alanna sighed. "I don't know," she admitted. "Right now I just feel really, really … unsure. I can't stomach what just happened." Her eyebrows came together in sudden anger. "I _hate_ him!" she yelled. "Girls were knights a hundred years ago, why can't I? I'm as good as- no, I'm better!- than the other pages! I practice with Coram's sword! I handed Ralon of Malven his big fat _behind_! I was born to learn to _fight_, not be a _lady_ or a, a, _runaway_!"

George reached over and took her hand, and nodded to Coram. "You're not gonna like this one, old man," he said. "But I think option number four is going to be the best for her."

"Well, what is it then?" Coram was suspicious.

George addressed them both. "Coram returns to Trebond. He won't be in trouble. He can claim that she forced him with magic to do it. That she threatened him. He can resume his tasks there, and if questioned, can say that she disappeared and hasn't been seen or heard from."

Coram looked as if he didn't like the idea at all, but kept silent.

"Then where _will_ I go?" Alanna asked.

"Here," George stated. "You stay here, with me, and train as one of my agents."

There was silence.

Then, "Are ye CRAZY?" Coram exclaimed. "Have you totally lost your gods-cursed marbles? She'll get caught, raped, thrown out in the gutter, and killed!"

George's hazel eyes connected with Coram's. "Look, lad, I guarantee that she will learn to fight. I'll teach her more with the sword, as well has hand-to-hand combat, wrestling and horsemanship. She'll experience combat first hand and a lot sooner than she would upstairs at the Palace. I promise you, she'll get a _real _education."

"Uh, George," Alanna butted in, "I don't know if you've noticed, but I happen to have _red hair and purple eyes_; don't you think that's obvious?!"

"Don't tell me ye're actually thinking about it!!" Coram said.

"We can deal with the appearance problems," George was calm through and through. "And none of my agents have gotten killed, except the stupid ones. Alanna isn't stupid, I know it."

Coram's head was in his hands. "There are so, so, so many things wrong with this 'plan,'" he muttered. "I don't believe this. I do not believe this. Brandy."

George had a cup in front of Coram in the blink of an eye.

Alanna was silent, mulling things over. "I'm going to have to think about it," she finally admitted. " I really don't know… I don't want to just…" she trailed off.

"Just think about it," advised George. "For now, why don't we just relax. I'll get you some food, you must be starving."

"All right," agreed Alanna sullenly. "Let me just go stable the horses."

The Rogue's mouth twitched and his eyes crinkled at the corners. "Lass, what kind of Rogue would I be if my people haven't taken care of that already?"

* * *

Later that evening, Alanna lay on a cot upstairs at the Dancing Dove near George's chambers. Coram was next to her, knocked out from drinking too much in all of his nervousness.

Her purple eyes were sad_. I can't believe this_, she thought. _After all my hard work. After the early practice and the classroom learning. After masquerading so well. I thought I could do it. I knew I could do it. I CAN do it. I can be Tortall's first female knight in a hundred years. And now? Because of that maggot-infested piece of horse manure I can't?_

She rolled over and punched her pillow. _I hate that man, and I don't know why, and it's driving me insane._

She had no reason to hate the Duke of Conte. He'd only been there for a few short weeks, but he left a troubled mark on her soul. The way he had dug into her brain that morning and swept right past her Gift really troubled her. She knew something was up with the Duke. His smile never made it to his eyes.

Shifting onto her stomach, Alanna let out a deep sigh. She had to decide what to do. Flee the country? _That is way too risky, _she analyzed. _Who would I stay with; where would I go? _

Should she go to the convent? _Well that one is DEFINITELY out_, Alanna thought. _No WAY am I going to suffer years of being taught useless tasks like writing script, or playing the flute, or how to ruffle my skirts correctly! _

That left two options. Become a spy with George by her side, or go to prison.

Hadn't she already lied and cheated enough? Where would it end? She could stop, right now, march up the hill, admit defeat, and serve some time. Surely, once she got out (if she ever got out) she could start over and maybe travel on her own. She could pick up fighting techniques from everywhere she went and earn her living…somehow. At least, her home would still be Trebond; Coram and Maude would certainly never turn her away.

Alanna wanted to do the right thing. She really did. She was raised with good manners and with morale. She felt bad enough that she had to tell the lie of her life; posing as a boy. She felt awful for lying to good people like Prince Jonathan, Gary and Raoul.

_This is too much for a twelve-year-old to think about! _

But the confinement! The confinement of a cell would drive her crazy! _I could be out on the move, fighting real fights, and learning useful information for George,_ she thought. _But no! I really am insane! Which side of the law AM I on? Is it possible to be on both? How could I work for George, knowing that the King and Lord Provost want his head? I'm already bad enough for being friends with George…still. George has done nothing but good things for me. Surely, I would be okay…right?_

Alanna continued to roll over and try to fall asleep. It had been one awful, unreal day.

* * *

Early the next morning Alanna awoke. Coram, surprisingly, was not there. She heard deep voices in the room next door, so she got up and entered.

George and Coram stopped talking when she entered.

"Well," Alanna said quietly, the bags under her eyes quite visible, "I've made my decision."

* * *

**SOOO! What's she gonna pick? Well I know the answer, but you'll have to wait and see!! Things may just not play out how you think they might….and I know this was a lot of talking but the action picks up next chapter. I hope I thought of all her possible choices. If I didn't, just pretend that I did D**

**Send me a review! Pointers are appreciated, cause I dunno if I mentioned it before but I haven't written a fic in about 8 thousand years (woah, a long time)!!**

**Oh and just a note about chapter posting: I tend to take awhile sometimes because I go over and edit my work MANY times before posting. Nothing drives me crazier than fics that aren't edited!**

**-Lady Reena **

**10/08**


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